Our weekly newsletter is designed to keep you abreast of all the action at DFS and also get you ready for the upcoming week of school. Please take a few minutes over each weekend to read it in its entirety. Thank you!

• Use the translate and accessibility buttons at the top of the page to make the newsletter format work for you.
• Previous newsletters are stored on our school website as the year progresses.
  
• Use the Table of Contents on the upper left side of the newsletter to quickly navigate to a specific section with just one click.
• Open the weekly newsletter before the weekend begins so your family is ready for all that is happening at DFS and can relax Sunday night.
• Share the newsletter with your child.

*If a day of the week is not listed below, it is because there were no major events to detail.

• Meet Your Teacher Grades K & 1 @ 1:00PM
• Meet Your Teacher Grades 2 & 3 @ 1:40PM
• Meet Your Teacher Grades 4 & 5 @ 2:20PM
• New Families Meet and Greet after Each Meet Your Teacher Session @ Cafe

Tuesday, August 27

• First Day of School

Wednesday, August 28

• Fire Drill

• Lockdown Drill

Friday, August 30

• Extreme Weather Drill

"There's no time like the present and no substitute for being present."

-Unknown

During our pre-service days, staff celebrated all they have to offer students and families by creating Collective Resumes. It was an interactive, team building activity designed to highlight the collective influence of our outstanding educators.

Please enjoy the photos below and take pride in knowing we have worked diligently over many years to create an incredible learning atmosphere for our students!

Kindergarten: Mrs. Sullivan, Mrs. O'Hara & Mrs. Logan

1st Grade: Mrs. Barthel, Mrs. Nawrocki, Miss McGrath & Miss Camara

2nd Grade: Miss Quinn, Mrs. Mains, Mrs. Helminger & Mrs. Chopskie

3rd Grade: Mrs. Van Growski, Ms. St. John, Mrs. Palermo & Mrs. Windsor

4th Grade: Mrs. Potok, Mrs. Gomes, Mrs. Weinstein & Tori Rothschild (intern)

5th Grade: Mr. Spillane, Mrs. Civitelli, Miss Root & Miss Wolfe

Content Specialists: Mrs. Panella, Mrs. Cavalli, Mrs. Ferraro, Mrs. Rosa & Mrs. Tedesco

Content Specialists: Mr. Kasbarian, Mrs. Tavella, Mrs. Shiller & Mr. McGrath

PPS Team: Mrs. Katz, Mrs. Forsythe, Mrs. Carley, Mrs. Paine, Mrs. Ward & Mrs. Keating

Please join us on Thursday, September 5, for our annual Back-to-School Night. The purpose of this event is to strengthen the vital communication process between families and teachers. You will have the opportunity to become familiar with the grade level curriculum, learning goals, classroom procedures, and how to best support your child at home. A thorough understanding of expectations in these areas is the first step in maximizing student success.

Our continued focus is on ensuring all students develop to their full academic, social, and emotional potential. We are extremely fortunate to have a wide array of personnel in our elementary schools and strive to utilize all staff in an equitable manner to achieve these goals. Parents play a key role in their child’s development and a robust school-home partnership is the hallmark of a quality school.

Times for the event are as follows:

• 6:00 – 6:45 p.m. Grades K, 1 & 2 in classrooms
• 7:00 – 7:45 p.m. Grades 3, 4 & 5 in classrooms

During classroom presentations, a short video will be shown with a message from the principal. Our specialist staff is available to answer questions face-to-face in their classrooms throughout the entire evening. The PTA and Father’s Club will also be present in the cafeteria for information and sign-ups.

We are asking families to carpool or walk to both protect our environment and free up parking space on campus. We have several student “green” initiatives throughout the year and parents serve as important role models in this area.

The staff and I feel very strongly about the necessity of consistent school-home communication; our Back-to-School program is a major component of this communication. Please make every effort to attend.

We look forward to seeing you on September 5!

• Monday, Dec. 9 – Orchestra, band and chorus daytime concert performances
• Monday, Dec. 9 – Evening orchestra and band concert. Orchestra at 7:00PM in the gym. Band at 7:30PM in the gym.
• Monday, Dec. 16 - Evening choral concert at 7:00PM
• Monday, May 5 – Evening orchestra and band concert. Orchestra at 7:00PM in the gym. Band at 7:30PM in the gym.
• Monday, May 19 – Orchestra, band and chorus daytime concert performances
• Monday, May 19 – Evening choral concert at 7:00PM

Now is the time to enroll your child in our band and strings programs. Please use the link below to access information and enrollment instructions. Students love working with Mr. McGrath and grow by leaps and bounds throughout the year!

Band & Strings Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdsZn3Y61JCQKX07KdYTvvrB0eAsIitZlXKgdiVcHn6jER7BQ/viewform

Please use the link below to log your child's summer reading. The process takes only a few minutes and allows your child to participate in our school summer reading celebration in September. Thank you!

Summer Reading Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfnAa-NU-GeKNUPO7iDK7iB130aqU1mc61wT5oGDZRq_a3kbQ/viewform

During the first few weeks of school we acquaint students with a myriad of procedures necessary for a successful year. This includes district-required safety drills; we conduct a fire drill, lockdown/stay put drill and an extreme weather drill. The fire drill is repeated eight months out of the year, the lockdown/stay put drill three times and the extreme weather drill one to two times. Teachers and students follow the procedures outlined in the district’s Classroom Emergency Response Chart. Teachers discuss these procedures with students prior to the actual drills so students are relaxed during the drills.

We explain that the lockdown/stay put drill is an indoor drill to keep us safe. We do not allude to the actual purposes of the drill, such as an intruder on campus or air quality issues. We explain that the extreme weather drill is designed to keep us away from the windows should a large storm pass through our area.

All the drills are low key and most students seem to enjoy the responsibility of participating. Please discuss the drills we have conducted at school with your child and address any concerns.

Together we make Daniels Farm School a safe learning environment for all.

During PM carpool dismissal, parents enter their child's carpool number once they are in line along Daniels Farm Road using the link below. The link allows daily access to a Google Form as follows:

1. Open the form (LINK: https://forms.gle/CDjvEC31yvPabfqL6 or use the QR code on the right)
2. Enter your child's carpool number.
3. Hit "submit".
4. Repeat this process for each child you are picking up that day.

This must be done each day you are picking up a student. Please DO NOT enter your number until you are in the car line on Daniels Farm Road or there will be too many students in the waiting area. If you bookmark the form on your phone, it will be easy to access on the days you need it. Below you will find a short video demonstrating the process.

Instructional Video Link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LzaVbMQwYjYZ17V__qhjQYDQQUILLXJc/view?usp=sharing

Please read and follow these important rules to keep all our students, families and staff safe.

• We do not sacrifice safety for convenience and speed.

• PARENTS MUST STAY IN THEIR VEHICLE. Students should be able to exit the vehicle during AM carpool drop off without parental help. This allows for a smooth flow of traffic so that students can be in class on time.

• All students must enter and exit on the passenger's side of the car.

• Please pull up all the way to the blue sign at the top of the circle.

• Cars must stay in line and only pass other vehicles if directed by DFS staff.

• When exiting carpool, please turn right only. Left turns are extremely dangerous due to blind spots created by the line of traffic and rate of speed of oncoming cars.

• Morning drop-off begins at 8:20AM and ends at 8:35AM. Students may not exit their vehicle until 8:20AM during carpool drop off. Staff is on duty at 8:20AM each morning, with no supervision prior to this time. Allowing your child out of the vehicle early places them in a potentially dangerous situation.

• Afternoon pickup begins at 3:15PM and ends at 3:35PM. Students in kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade should be picked up from 3:15 to 3:25 PM. Students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade should be picked up from 3:25 - 3:35PM. After this time, students are brought to the front office.

• Parents choosing to walk their children to carpool may enter the area from the front or rear of the property. You may not walk through the bus area. You may not park in the staff lot and walk your child to carpool to avoid waiting in line.

DFS WEBSITE LINK: https://dfes.trumbullps.org/